Spec Ops: The Line: An Example of How Gameplay Should Serve a Game

Before reading the rest of this piece, please look at the painting I have included below. It is the famous Coca Cola painting by Andy Warhol. Really stare at it for about 30 seconds, and take it in.

The painting is brutally repetitious, monotonous, monotone brown, and not pleasing to view at all. At first glance it completely spurns so many basic artistic principles, and one might wonder how someone of Andy Warhol's stature could produce something like it. The point of the painting was to illustrate how we are hammered day after day, hour after hour, with inescapable corporate advertisements to the point that they all bleed together (like the coke bottles in the painting) into unintelligible nonsense.

Now let's look at Spec Ops: The Line. I have heard the argument that because its gameplay is derivative, overly familiar, and otherwise mediocre, that somehow this should undercut the accolades this game has received. I fervently disagree.I think most everyone here can agree that games are art. A work of art's primary purpose is to evoke emotion in the person experiencing it. Though Mr. Warhol dismisses any notion of basic artistic principal, and abandons making this piece look aesthetically appealing, this piece of his is very successful at what it attempts to illustrate; commercialism presented to us ad nauseum.If Spec Ops: The Line is a game, and games are art, then the primary goal of Spec Ops: The Line is to evoke an emotional response in the player; the success of the game falling on how great of an emotional response it manages to evoke. Being a game, the means of achieving this must be primarily done with gameplay, in conjunction with graphics, narrative, and all of the components that make up a video game when viewed as a composition. So if Spec Ops: The Line's primary goal is to evoke an emotional response, and the gameplay is the main vehicle in which Spec Ops can accomplish this, then well-implemented gameplay would be a system whose mechanics keep a player engaged while subsequently aiding to the emotions the game attempts to evoke.Like Warhol's Coca Cola, Spec Ops: The Line exists as an elaborate commentary on the Modern Military Shooter genre; a genre that is brutally repetitious, monotonous, monotone brown, and whose recent entries are so uninspired that they all bleed together at first sight.

Spec Ops: The Line's primary goal is to surreptitiously illustrate how atrociously derivative the Modern Military Shooter genre has become, and how the genre as a whole promotes crimes against humanity for the sake of sadistic enjoyment, with the end result of the player undeservingly feeling like a "hero". Like the Coke bottles in Mr. Warhol's painting, the gameplay in Spec Ops: The Line is something very familiar to anyone who has been playing video games over the past few years. Though the mechanics are solid and serviceable, the game does nothing we haven't seen in other games of the genre, games that no doubt are derivative enough to bleed together in our head. This familiarity immediately puts players at an almost robotic state. We begin to engage yet again in a gameplay loop that we have done on so many occasions that the frequency of which seems a bit blurry. How then must we feel when these all too familiar mechanics get warped into a means of increasingly cruel acts? How must we feel about the other games we have played that utilize the same mechanics, yet strike a disgustingly disconnected tone of the carnage we continuously inflict? How could we be so indifferent to something callous that we see everyday of our lives, be it corporate advertisements, or the means of glorifying ghastly heroism in entertainment? Without this abundant familiarity that parallels other games of the stagnating Modern Military Shooter genre, the emotional gut-punch Spec Ops: The Line produces would be diminished.

Just as Mr. Warhol's ugly painting techniques illustrate how repetitious advertisements bleed together in our head and become nothing, Spec Ops: The Line's gameplay illustrates how derivative shooters have become, and how comfortable we have become with committing atrocities when given gameplay mechanics that are so familiar that they have bled into our mind. The mediocre gameplay helps Spec Ops: The Line deliver its message. If you truly believe that games are art, then why not accept that so long as gameplay is serviceable and engaging, then it CAN be a good thing to create "mediocre gameplay" in order to prop up the game's point? You may see this as pretentious; I see it as the medium evolving.

343 Changing the Master Chief's Look and Personality

343's Frank O'Connor stated in an interview with Official Xbox Magazine that the Master Chief will look and act differently in Halo 4. He said, "There's some story behind his new look... There are specific reasons why he looks the way he does and why some of his behaviours have changed. We'll see in good time." This strikes me as very odd considering the fact that the Master Cheif has about as much of a personality as a doorknob. As those of you who follow me know, I have never been a fan of Master Chief, Gordon Freeman, or any of the vanilla characters that say little or nothing at all. Any change in his personality is a good thing in my opinion, although I'm sure the fans might feel differently. Here's to hoping we get really long "how I feel" cutscenes like we did in Other M, after all, it went over really well with Metroid fans.

E3 Live Blog

Hey gang! As you know there will be a lot of exciting news and surprises at E3 in the next couple of days, and I will be doing my best to watch it live. Keep a bookmark on this page, and spam the refresh button to get my live reactions of what is shown to us!

Microsoft's Press Conference

I thought the press conference was kind of weak. Microsoft is having a weak year as far as 1st party titles go, and I was expecting them to surprise us with something coming in the near future to make up for the lack of software. I personally have trouble getting excited about Kinect titles, and that was the obvious focus of the press conference. Furthermore, all they focused on were titles we already knew were coming, and all we saw from these titles were things we already expected. I know what to expect from Gears of War 3, and Forza 4, what I wanted to see was something new and exciting. The Halo 4 announcement really didn't come as a surprise to me, and I really am not sure how to react to a new trilogy not being developed by Bungie. As it stands now, I think the thing to get the most excited about is Minecraft on the 360, and the Halo CE remake. (Posted after the conference).

Sony's Press Conference

6/6 5:22 PST: The CEO was the one that needed to apologize, not somebody like Kevin Butler. Glad they got it out of the way first. Great apology.

6/6 5:26 PST: Cinema Now? Never heard of it, but it is obviously going to be the main competition with being able to watch live TV on the Xbox 360.

6/6 5:29 PST: I am so impressed with how Uncharted 3 visually looks, the lighting, water and detail are insane.

6/6 5:33 PST: It's official, Uncharted 3 kicks ass. My fears are being eased; it looks like they are upping the ante for the sequel. Interesting that they will be offering the entire multiplayer section of the game before it's released. Wohoo Chloe is back!

6/6 5:41 PST: Resistance 3 looked cool, but I've never been a fan of the franchise. So far, Sony is keeping the press conference about software. Smart.

6/6 5:43 PST: Wohoo ICO/Sotc remake coming in September!

6/6 5:49 PST: Sony's motion peripheral is supporting more hardcore games. A stark contrast to Microsoft's demo of the Kinect with children. As a gamer, I find the Move more appealing.

6/6 5:57 PST: Brutes and Grunts in a PS3 game? lol

6/6 6:01 PST: Adding Sony Move User created content to Little Big Planet 2? A damn good way to support the hardware, and the creative possibilities could spawn something very special.

6/6 6:04 PST: A new IP by Santa Montica Studios, and now Sly 4...Sony is killing here.

6/6 6:06 PST: A new new IP called Dust, which is a persistent MMO linked to the wildly popular Eve online PC MMORPG. Color me very impressed. Microsoft's conference has nothing on this.

6/6 6:15 PST: A bioshock set game on the NGP? Interesting.

6/6 6:18 PST: Microsoft, take note. On-disc exclusives are more important than getting access to COD maps early.

6/6 6:22 PST: Playstation content on an Android Smart phone? Very VERY interesting.

6/6 6:26 PST: Oh man! 3G on the NGP, now named the PS Vita, will only be offered by ATT. Boos were made. Party Chat comes to the Vita as well! About time Sony!

6/6 6:30 PST: Very impressive graphics on the NGP with Uncharted!

6/6 6:39 PST: Cloud based saves that can be used between the PS Vita, and the PS3 is an awesome feature.

6/6 6:43 PST: PS Vita looks pretty impressive! Price please!

6/6 6:48 PST: Street Fighter Cross Tekken! Hell Yeah!

6/6 6:55 PST: Between hardware and software I would say the PS Vita has one hell of a debut!

6/6 6:57 PST: WWWWOOOOOOWWWW! $249 for the Wifi only model of the PS Vita, and $299 for the 3G enabled one! Look out 3DS!

6/6 7:00 PST: What a press conference! Sony killed Microsoft! I kind of wish Kevin Butler showed up, though, and WHERE THE HELL IS THE LAST GUARDIAN!?!?!??!

Nintendo's Press Conference

Nintendo's press conference was broken into two parts, with the first half focusing on their handheld software, and the second half focusing on their brand new console, the WiiU.

3DS I wanted to discuss what was said about the 3DS first. It is no secret that after launch, Nintendo hasn't really done much to support their new hardware. The software line-up since launch has been extremely weak, and sales have slumped because of it. In addition, they have gone way beyond their promised date of bringing up the Nintendo Online Store. So naturally, everyone expected Nintendo to announce some new software, to wet the appetites of all of the hungry gamers dying to use the new hardware they bought. Well, Nintendo did announce new software, but is it something to get excited about?

As a kid, I remember running to my friends' houses to play the N64 games I couldn't play on my Playstation. I fell in love with some of the classics, such as Starfox64, Mario Kart, Mario64, and have recently been enjoying Ocarina of Time. I love these games...and Nintendo knows it. We are getting yet another round of remakes, with a new Mario Kart, Starfox64 3D, and a new Mario game announced, coupled with the upcoming Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D remake. As a gamer, I have a hard time getting excited about this. Collecting stars just isn't as fun as it was a decade ago, and as much as I loved bailing Slippy out of a sticky situation, I want a NEW Starfox! I want to see Nintendo develop a new franchise, not fall back on the franchises they've had since the 1980's. The most exciting game shown at E3 was Kid Icarus. So more software will be coming by the end of the year for 3DS owners, but I don't know how excited owners will get about them.

WiiU Of course, the 3DS wasn't what had people buzzing. Nintendo officially unveiled its new console, previously deemed Project Cafe, called the WiiU. The WiiU boasts HD graphics (FINALLY) comparable to that of the PS3 and 360. The graphical power isn't what has people talking though, the controller is what will have everyone buzzing. The controller has the traditional dual analog control, 4 face buttons, and 2 triggers, but in addition, it has a 6.2 inch screen capable of HD resolution, touch control, an accelerometer, gyroscope, direct communication with the WiiU allowing users to play the game on either the controller or a TV, front facing camera, and a microphone. It can't run independent from the WiiU, as it's own standalone handheld, though. Wow! So what does this mean, and what are my initial reactions to this?

I want to say this first SONY! WAKE UP! Let's compare the new PS Vita with the WiiU controller:

If Sony can add the functionality of communicating between the PS Vita and the PS3, then Sony has their own "next gen" console. I really don't see a revolution in gaming here, or anything that truly looks like "next gen." Don't get me wrong, I can see hundreds of potential applications with this controller, but I could also see hundreds of applications of the Wii Mote. It's hard for me to jump onboard right away here. Color me intrigued, but not excited.

Perhaps the most important announcement from the Nintendo Press Conference was the third party support. Battlefield 3, Tekken, Assassin's Creed, Ninja Gaiden 3, and more will be appearing on the WiiU. Nintendo needed this. Third party support for the Wii has been horrible, and I am glad to see Nintendo is improving on the third-party support for their new console.

So what it boils down to is this. If Nintendo can garner the same third-party support that Microsoft and Sony have, it will be up to Nintendo to sell units with their first-party software. The questions gamers will have to ask themselves are if they are interested in the exclusives enough to shell out the cash for a new console. There is still no price set on the WiiU, but I would imagine the price being around 500 dollars. The controller alone must cost $200... As far as this being "next gen", I would have to disagree. As of right now, no features shown at the conference gave me the impression of really pushing our current technology to the next level. More will be revealed, and my opinion may change, but as of right now I'm not planning on buying this one.

It's troubling to think that this is the first time since the Dreamcast that a generation go-betweener console has been announced, and after the catastrophe that happened to Sega, the future may not be certain. What is further troubling is the fact that they didn't speak one bit about any new software coming to the Wii, even after the weak year the Wii is currently having. The press will be buzzing about the new console, but as far as I'm concerned, Nintendo's conference overall didn't steal the show this year.

Assorted Thoughts on Games Being Showcased

Mass Effect 3:6/6 4:31pm PST: The voice command technology looks really cool and would work really well with a squad-based game like this! However, I can't help but think that all of this could be accomplished through the headset (like Tom Clancy's End Wars).

Modern Warfare 3:6/6 4:39pm PST: It still looks the same. The submarine looked just like the ship in COD4, We got our 50th slow-mo scene, and the chase on the dingy looked just like the snowmobile chase in MW2. It appeared to be the same engine we've seen for a while too. I saw no reason to get excited.

Dead Island:6/6 7:13 PST: The game didn't impress me and looked very rough. Almost like an inferior version of Left 4 Dead or Condemned. Don't think I will be getting this one.

Welcome Back Package on PSN

If you are ready to download your 2 free PS3 games and 2 free PSP games, I would recommend waiting. Everyone appears to be getting errors due to the servers being completely overtaxed. I can't say that this is surprising at all, but it is still an annoyance. If you are like me and got an error in the middle of the download, you will still be able to get your free game (so stop panicking). The PS Blog has the answer for those whose downloads errored and the "Free Game 1 or 2" disappeared from the store. Hopefully the PS Store will be fully functional again, and we can all get our free games. While we wait though, what games are you planning on downloading? I'm thinking about Dead Nation and Wipeout HD since I already own LBP2 and Jordan already owns inFamous. How about you guys?

Addressing the Criticisms Part 2

Roughly one year ago, I picked up my first Final Fantasy game ever. It was the Final Fantasy game that was scorned by the fans, and Western RPG addicts. It was the source of huge disappointment among many gamers, and it got Dorm Gaming's 2010 Game of the Year Award. So after I enjoyed Final Fantasy 13 so much, I didn't understand, and still don't, why people hated the game so much. The main criticism it got was that the game was linear. It's a criticism I've have addressed many times, and something I don't believe hampers the game. So naturally, my curiosity got the best of me, and I wanted to play Final Fantasy 12, a game that many fans herald as a great open RPG. Well, I am about 10 hours into Final Fantasy 12, and decided to write about my first impressions of the game, like I did for Final Fantasy 13 a yea ago (http://dormgaming.weebly.com/1/post/2010/06/addressing-the-criticisms.html) and discuss how I believe Final Fantasy 12 compares to 13.

Final Fantasy games are supposed to be standalone experiences. I was immediately reminded of that when I was let loose in the absolutely huge world of Final Fantasy 12. The walls, and barriers were gone, and I could go wherever I wanted. Did it make the game a better experience however? I really don't think so. Yeah, I could go wherever I wanted, but I didn't feel motivated to go exploring. In Final Fantasy 13, there was nowhere else I ever really wanted to go. All I have done in the open world was take long walks from point A to B with nothing happening, just so I can finish some quests.

What struck me even more so was just how different the characters were from Final Fantasy 13, and the way they interacted with each other. Now believe me when I say, I realize Final Fantasy 13 could be very melodramatic at times (I'm still vomiting from the Serah and Snow proposal scene), and that it isn't everyone's cup of tea. On the other hand, I would rather a game be melodramatic, than have the characters show no emotion at all. The characters in Final Fantasy 12 are robots. They show no personality, no emotion, nothing with Fran being the best example. In Final Fantasy 13, I was immediately drawn into the conflict that faced all of the characters once they were outcasted as a L'cie. It was powerful, entertaining, and personal. The conflict of waring nations in Final Fantasy 12 has done nothing to captivate me. The story has been bland.

The same extends to the combat. I don't understand how people prefer the combat of Final Fantasy 12. The gambits do all of the work for you. ALL OF IT! It's like the combat system of Final Fantasy 13, but with the elimination of the strategic paradigm shifting. Nothing thus far has challenged me.

Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I don't think Final Fantasy 12 is a bad game, and I intend on playing more of it. I just don't understand why people say Final Fantasy 13 is so inferior after my experience with the game's predecessor. Playing Final Fantasy 12 just made me want another Final Fantasy 13, and after the feedback 13 got, I don't think I ever will get another one.

Gears of War 3 Beta Impressions

Gears of War 2's multiplayer had a very rough start. The lag and connection was bad, and I remember it taking up to 20 minutes just to find one match! I seriously sat through an entire episode of South Park in 2008 waiting for the matchmaking system to put me in a match! It was horrible and turned a lot of people, including me, away from Gears of War multiplayer. Well, Epic Games learned from their mistakes, and this time around decided to do a public beta so the situation that plagued Gears 2 wouldn't happen again. It is two and a half years later, and Epic has had a lot of time to rethink all of the mistakes they made with Gears of War 2, but were they able to rekindle my interest after the catastrophe 2 years ago?

Developers! Please Read Before Releasing a Trailer!

Dear video game developers,

We gamers like video game trailers. They are a way for you guys to show off what you have been tirelessly working on, and allow us to get excited about a game that is up and coming. It reminds us what we may love about one of your previous games, or it may captivate us at how extremely different and innovative your new game will be. Hype and speculation are half the fun of waiting for a game to come out, keeping us talking, and waiting impatiently for our next big adventure.

When a trailer gets released, we want to see what improvements have been made in the game. We want to see how it plays. We want to see how it stacks up against other games in the genre that we may like. We want to get a sense of what we might be buying.

What we DON'T want is something that gives us no information about a game, except for the fact that it exists. Yes developers, I'm talking about CGI trailers, Live action nonsense, or most recently, the visualization of game audio. Bungie, I'm glaring at you. Infinity Ward, I'm glaring at you. Day 1 Studios, I'm looking at you too.

When gamers look for trailers, they are looking for information. They want to judge how much fun the game will be, if it fits their personal tastes, and ultimately see how the game plays. After all, the most important part of any game is how fun it is to play. So, video game developers, how are we able to do any of this when you give us footage of something other than gameplay. WE WANT TO SEE HOW THE GAME PLAYS! It irritates us when we waste a minute or two of our time, just to learn next to nothing about the game you are trying to pitch to us. We want information, not footage of a doll diorama!

I sincerely hope that next time any of you decide to release a trailer, you make sure it is something that will give gamers information, instead of wasting both our time and your time on a throw away trailer that is both needless and forgettable.

The Big N Makes Huge Strides In The Right Direction

The Nintendo Wii is most definitely not your conventional home gaming console. It was definitely geared toward a different audience than any other home console has ever tried to appeal to, and for the first time in gaming history, it successfully allowed you to play your game with motion controls. I have talked down on the Wii a lot over its 5-year life span. I have a lot of problems with the console, and the way some of its functionality was handled. Despite being the best selling home console in gaming history, the Wii has many faults, which I have pointed out a lot. While there is a lot about the Wii I don't like, the console's biggest downfall is the complete lack of 3rd party developer support. If a game is on the Wii, and it isn't a first party game, odds are it will not sell well at all. Many great games have gone overlooked on the Wii, such as Mad World and Dead Space Extraction, while terrible first party games continually out sell them. As a gamer, this doesn't resonate well with me. One thing I HATE to see is a developer to pour their heart and soul into making a great game, just for the game to become under-appreciated. It's not fair for a game to sell well just because it has the word "Mario" or "Nintendo" on it.

It is kind of ironic when you think about it. Usually gamers buy a certain console for its first party exclusives. Then you take a console like the Wii, which is predominately all first party exclusives (of high caliber), and gamers turn a cold shoulder to it. It just goes to show you that third part support for a console is just as important as its first party line up of games, and undoubtedly, the Wii has had terrible third party support from developers. When you have a console with the largest installment base in gaming history, and third party developers shy away from developing for it, there is definitely a problem. This is the reason I have never bought a Wii, and really don't have any huge plans to buy one in the future.

Nintendo is no stranger to the gaming scene, and if anyone can learn from their mistakes, it's Nintendo. Nintendo acknowledged a few days ago that the "Wii's future could have been different if Nintendo had made better partnerships with outside companies." Additionally, they acknowledged that they have been too focused on doing things internally, and would like to address the problem on Nintendo's new console.

These statements have single-handedly doubled my interest in Nintendo’s upcoming home console. Nintendo definitely has the capacity to make a great console, and if the new console will have third party support, Nintendo is making huge strides to learn from the mistakes they made with this generation.

Dorm Gaming Now Has A Gamecube

That's right, I am now the proud owner of a Nintendo Gamecube! Expect to see some Gamecube games in the future, including Eternal Darkness, which will be broadcasted tonight! I am also planning on getting Viewtiful Joe, SSB Melee, and the Gameboy Adapter that allows you to play Gameboy color games on the Gamecube (expect to see Pokemon). Now I realize that these are rather high-profile games, and sometimes the best games are the ones that fly under the radar, so I wanted to reach out to my viewers. What games on the Gamecube should I not pass up? Shout out in the comment section, and maybe you'll see the game on the broadcast sometime in the future!